Senior co-captain Shannon Byrne carded a first-round 75 to help Notre Dame move into fourth place after 18 holes at the adidas Fall Invitational in Palm Harbor, Fla.

Oct. 19, 2003

PALM HARBOR, Fla. -
Senior Shannon Byrne (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove HS) and freshman Noriko Nakazaki (Hanover Park, Ill./Hoffman Estates HS) each fired an opening-round 75 on Sunday afternoon to help propel the Notre Dame women's golf team into a tie for fourth place through one round of the 2003 adidas Fall Invitational. The Irish, who are serving as the tournament hosts, carded a team score of nine-over par 303 and stand nine shots behind Missouri after 18 holes on the par-72, 5,844-yard Lansbrook Golf Club layout in Palm Harbor, Fla.

Baylor's Josefin Svenningsson posted a first-round score of three-under par 69 to take the individual lead on Sunday and help the Bears move into second place behind Missouri at 298. A third Big 12 Conference team, Nebraska, is in third place at 302, one shot ahead of Notre Dame and Arkansas-Little Rock.

Byrne and Nakazaki are two of 11 golfers who are tied for 12th place on the individual ladder at three-over par 75. Three Irish golfers - sophomore Suzie Hayes (Dublin, Ireland/Loreto College St. Stephen's Green), junior Karen Lotta (Los Angeles, Calif./Marymount HS) and freshman Stacy Brown (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands HS) - are among a group of seven in 23rd place at four-over par 76. Lotta and Brown are competing in this week's tournament as individuals and their scores are not counted toward Notre Dame's team total.

Sophomore Katie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) is one shot further back in 30th place at five-over par 77, with classmate Sarah Bassett (Spokane, Wash./Lewis and Clark HS) another shot behind in 36th position at six-over par 78. Sophomore Lauren Gebauer (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington HS) rounded out the Irish lineup with a first-round score of eight-over par 80.

Fourteen teams are competing in this year's adidas Fall Invitational, including five teams in the Top 50 of the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index rankings (#30 Missouri, #40 Kansas State, #43 Notre Dame, #46 Nebraska and #47 Baylor). The second round of the tournament is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. (EDT) Monday with a shotgun start. The final round will take place Tuesday at that same time. Full results from the adidas Fall Invitational will be posted on the official Notre Dame athletics web site (www.und.com) and on the Notre Dame Sports Hotline (574-631-3000) following the completion of each day's action.